As pressure builds on the educational systems of the world to serve the needs of increasingly diverse multilingual populations and at a time when multilingualism and multiliteracy are clearly socially and economically advantageous, the need to understand relationships between language and education is particularly acute. Since its formulation in the 1970s, educational linguistics has been developing specifically to address this need. More than the application of concepts from the discipline of linguistics to the field of education, educational linguistics has taken shape as the transdisciplinary investigation of language issues in and around educational settings. Accordingly, it has emerged as an area of inquiry that is unified by its focus on education but diverse in both methodology and theoretical underpinnings. Directions and Prospects for Educational Linguistics explores the innovations that have developed from creative syntheses of methodological and theoretical approaches. The volume provides unique insights into current practices and new frontiers for educational linguistics by bringing together contributions from scholars who draw upon on established research traditions while at the same time pushing their boundaries beyond the confines of specific disciplines. Each essay serves as a thought provoking starting point for scholars and advanced graduate students to contemplate directions and prospects for research that contributes to linguistically appropriate and socially responsible education.
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